Municipality of Villafranca de los Barros (Badajoz Province, Extremadura, Spain)

Last modified: 2008-12-26 by eugene ipavec
Keywords: villafranca de los barros |
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• Description

See also:

• Badajoz Province (Extremadura, Spain)
• Extremadura (Spain)
• Spain

The municipality of Villafranca de los Barros [1] (12,600 inhabitants; 10,500 ha) is located in the middle of a wide plain made of fertile clay soil, in the center of the Province of Badajoz, some 75 km from the provincial capital. The town is the second biggest town of the Comarca of Tierra de Barros.

In the Roman times, the main crops in the region were grains, today outgrown by olive-treses and vines. The local erudites traditionally identified Villafranca de los Barros with the Roman town of Perceiana, most probably a village located near the villa Perceiana owned by Perceianus. Short after the Reconquest by the Catholic Kingd, Villafranca was transferred to the Order of Santiago and the place was resettled in the late XIIIth century. It is not known exactly when the town was given the chart explaining its name (lit., free town). In the XVth century, it was known as Villafranca del Maestre or del Maestrazgo; in the XVIIIth century, it was known as Villafranca de Extremadura. The current name was adopted in the XIXth century; the title of town ("ciudad") was granted by King Alfonso XII in 1885. The town was granted the official nickname of "Ciudad de la Música" (The City of Music) by the Executive Commission of the Federation of the Municipalities of the Province of Badajoz on 16 February 2000, as a tribute to the long tradition of music examplified by the local (but of wider fame) folklorists Pedro Bote and Bonifacio Gil. The grant was confirmed on 22 October 2002 by the Government of Extremadura.

There is an electronic contest for the selection of the municipal flag of Villafranca de los Barros, with nine proposals presented on the municipal website [2]. The proposals use the coat of arms or elements of the coat of arms, which is described on the municipal website as follows [3]:

The municipal coat of arms was approved by the Council of Ministers on 29 January 1982. On a field gules a knight in armour, riding a horse galloping argent. The knight holds a shield charged with the master cross of the Order of Santiago [4], and is flanked sinister by two warriors on foot, also in armour and each holding the same shield as the rider. In canton argent the cross of the Order of Santiago. The scene refers to an historical event involving the Commander of Villafranca. The registers of the Order of Santiago relates the war acts of the Commanders of the Order. The coat of arms is based on such an act involving the Commander of Villafranca and his troops: "During the battle on the hills of Málaga against the Moors, the Commander of Villafranca fought together with the Commander of Hornachos. The horse of the Grand Master of the Order was killed. Accordongly, the Commander of Villafranca offered his horse to the Grand Master so that he can lead the battle." The scene on the shield represents therefore the Grand Master riding the horse and the Commanders of Villafranca and Hornachos on foot.

The proposals are shown as "Proposal 1" , ..., "Proposal 9". The proposals are shown as more or less floating so that exact overall and particular dimensions can only be guessed.

1. Proposal 1 is vertically divided white-red (1:2), with the Cross of the Order of Santiago overall, with the border counterchanged.
2. Proposal 2 is vertically divided (1:2), left white with a red Cross of the Order of Santiago in canton, right horizontally divided red-white-red.
3. Proposal 3 is horizontally divided (1:1) red with the white silhouette of the riding knight, with a red Cross of the Order of Santiago on the shield, white with the yellow municipal emblem. The municipal emblem seems to symbolize a music staff with five lines and seven notes.
4. Proposal 4 is horizontally divided (~4:1) red with the white silhouette of the riding knight, with a red Cross of the Order of Santiago on the shield in the middle and the white municipal emblem, in canton, and white.
5. Proposal 5 is white with a red border, the coat of arms in the middle and the white municipal emblem in a white canton.
6. Proposal 6 is diagonally (ascending) divided white-red with the coat of arms overall and the yellow municipal emblem in canton.
7. Proposal 7 is quartered white-red (1:2) with the coat of arms overall and the white municipal emblem in canton.
8. Proposal 8 is vertically divided white-red (1:2) with the coat of arms in the white part and the white municipal emblem in the red part.
9. Proposal 9 is diagonally (ascending) divided white-red with the coat of arms in canton and the white municipal emblem in lower fly.

Ivan Sache, 24 Feb 2002